![Bellaire Drive](https://levees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Bellaire-Drive-300x200.jpg)
Homes directly across from 17th Street Canal breach in Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans. Photo/Bill Roussarie
Before Hurricane Sandy struck the northeast, the prevailing attitude in Washington, D.C. and much of America toward Katrina survivors was that hurricanes and flooding were New Orleans’ problem.
Myself, a resident of that cultural gem, I was considered partly responsible for my losses when the government-built levees broke and flooded 80 percent of New Orleans. Why do I live in a region vulnerable to hurricane storm surge? Why should I be America’s burden?
Forget the fact that with logic like that, everyone who lives in a region that sees events measured by some sort of scale — be it Fujita, Richter or Saffir-Simpson — should pack up and leave. Nonetheless, compassion for Katrina survivors was lacking, many of whom were blamed for not heeding Governor Kathleen Blanco’s order to evacuate.
But I predict that Sandy will change that.